The Beginning of the End
by peskyhumanity
Summary: A story of loss, pain, and yes, love. He's her savior and she's his angel.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So here we are. The Beginning of the End... again. I do hope you all enjoy this story. We are starting off at the beginning of season five with Stefan in the safe and Elena with Damon. Tyler is back in town, and with Caroline, and Matt and Rebekah are back from traveling the world. Silas still lurks in the town of Mystic Falls, but no one know's what he wants. Who knows what will happen from here?**

**I own nothing of The Vampire Diaries. But I do claim ownership of the character Stella.**

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**STEFAN'S POINT OF VIEW**

My eyes flick open and I see nothing but black vastness. I try to move my arms but they are restricted by cold metal walls. I kick my feet and it's the same way. I open my mouth to fill my lungs with air, soon to realize the only thing rushing in is the water of the quarry that I was thrown into.

I have no clue how long I have been down here. There is no way to know. When you're at the bottom of a body of water, where no sunlight can reach, how are you supposed to figure it out? After being in here for so long, I have accepted the fact that I am going a bit insane. How can you not? Being alone, in a locked box, in the dark, going in and out of consciousness over and over, you start to lose your mind.

I have no perception of time but I figured out that a short while after I was pushed in here, I started to go crazy. I would be knocked out cold and all of the sudden I would think that I hear her voice, or see her smile. I would think she was here to save me, only to be hit with a hard dose of reality when I would violently wake up and the water would fill my lungs again. Repeating the process once more.

It takes a toll on you, when this happens more times than you can count. I… I'm losing it again. My brain is going fuzzy and I can't think straight. I can't fight it. It's an involuntary reflex to just give up now. I try my best to think of one thing that will keep me calm. Give me serenity, peace… happiness.

So I think of _her._

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My eyes snap open and I suck in air, expecting it to be water. But it comes as a surprise when it is fresh, cool, summer night air. When I move my arms, I can actually stretch them further than a few inches from my own body. My limbs are stiff, but it's a relief to be free.

Wait, am I free? Or is this all a hallucination or maybe it's a dream. That's when I hear a snap come from behind me, making me realize, for the first time, we are in the woods. I turn around and see no one.

"Stefan…" I hear a whimsical whisper come from behind me. I whip around and have to cover my eyes from the sun that shines in my face. Even though it's so bright, it feels amazing. Being in the dark for, God knows how long, to now being bathed in the sunlight.

"Stefan." I hear someone spit out. I turn around and that's when I finally see her. I smile the biggest smile I have felt on my face in the last few months. My first instinct is to go grab her in a hug and spin her around.

So that's exactly what I do.

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**ELENA'S POINT OF VIEW**

I shoot straight up from my lying position and grab my chest, while gasping for air. I can't seem to get air in my lungs, so I start coughing. Finally, as an invisible wall broke, air rushed into my throat, then down to my lungs. I was dreaming about _him_ again. It was different this time though.

Whenever I see him in the land of my own mind, he's smiling. He's happy and laughing and I can see that happiness spread to his moss green eyes. The sun is always consuming him, making his golden wheat hair glow. And every time I see that beautiful smile, it's directed at me. My dreams make absolutely no sense. They are always about us, sitting in an open field, laughing and talking and just enjoying being near each other. Or they could be in a secluded area of the forest, where there is a small pond only we know about. Laughing and splashing each other, actually being happy.

_But this time, it was dark and gloomy. The skies overhead were gray and rumbling with thunder. Instead of the freshwater of a small pond, it was black water of a large lake. And in the middle of it was Stefan, chained to weights, slowly sinking down to the depths of the unknown. I'm trying to help him, I am trying to run to him but something is holding me back; I can feel their hands on my arms. And when I look up to see who it is, I realized it was the man I was laying in bed next to. Damon. When I looked back to the spot where Stefan stayed struggling, he was gone. Almost as if magic was involved, in a matter of seconds he was laying in front of me, unconscious. _

"_Please let me help him." I say as I look up to Damon. "He needs help!" I yell, as he releases my arms and I fall forward almost landing on Stefan. I sit on my knees and hold a hand to his face. It's cold and feels like stone. I can feel the tears well up in my eyes as I move my face closer to his and plant a gentle kiss upon his lips. As I start to turn away, he coughs, water coming up with it. I rush over to him and set his head on my lap as all the water comes rushing out of him. When he finishes, he sets his head down on my legs, and I feel him relax. _

Then I woke up.

And I woke up next to the man keeping me from saving his brother in that dream. Sure, Damon was fun to be with. But it started to get old. Always the same thing with each other: feeding and sleeping together. Not having any meaningful conversations, and he hasn't even taken me out on a date. Sitting here, the only one awake, I can admit that I-.

My thought is interrupted the sound of a door opening and closing. No, not just closing, but slamming. Making the whole house shake on its foundation. I can tell it awoke Damon, because beside me he started to stir. I can also hear the shuffle of other people staying in the Salvatore Boarding House. Right now Damon, Caroline, Tyler, Rebekah, Matt, and myself occupy it. After Klaus let Tyler return to Mystic Falls, him and Caroline have been inseparable. But lately Care just seems off. Rebekah and Matt started staying here after they came back from their summer vacation. And I guess that they decided to be more than just friends, because they announced they were dating as soon as they walked in the door, fingers linked with the others.

"I know everyone in this house is a vampire, so you all better get your asses downstairs and in the living room!" I hear an unfamiliar, female voice speak to all of us. I look over to Damon and he just shakes his head and starts to get out of bed to get dressed.

"Damon, what's going on?" I ask him as I follow suit and grab my jeans to put them on.

"We need to get downstairs." He says before he goes into his closet. He then comes out in a shirt and says, "Now."

After I finished putting on my clothes we headed downstairs. He grabbed my hand and interlocked our fingers as we started toward the living room. We walk in and everyone is already there, along with a girl that I do not know, but she can't be more the fifteen, maybe sixteen. She looks over towards Damon and I, shoots us a disgusted look and points for us to sit down on the couch.

"I want one of you to tell me where Stefan Salvatore is, right now." She demands, looking from face to face.

"He went out to feed, I heard him leave this morning." Damon spoke up and tightened his grip on my hand. The girl laughs at hearing this and then starts to pace back and forth.

"Oh, Damon. Damon, Damon, Damon. I am very ashamed of you. You can't even tell the difference between your own brother and an imposter." She says quietly, trying to keep calm. "Because if you knew anything about your brother, you could see that the person who has been living here, is in fact, not him, but Silas. Stefan's _doppelganger._" She says the last word slowly, and drags it out so it feels like an eternity before she finishes.

My jaw drops. Stefan? A doppelganger? And he's Silas' doppelganger! The girl draws my attention back to herself when she starts to speak again.

"So let me ask _one_ more time. Where. Is. Stefan?" She says, taking slight pause after every word. She looks over at Rebekah and Matt, they shake their heads. Then to Caroline and Tyler, they, of course, shake their heads. And she should believe Caroline, her and Stefan are best friends, if anyone knew where Stefan was, it would be Caroline. Finally she looks to Damon and I, we both shake our heads. She lets out a loud guffaw and starts to speak, "Well that's too bad. Because I do know where he is. Or where he has been for the past three months, would put it into better words. Would all of you like me to educate you on the whereabouts of Stefan Salvatore lately?" She asks, not caring if any of us answer her, she begins. "He has been… locked in a safe… at the bottom OF A FUCKING QUARRY!" She bellows and I can feel her scream rumble through me, all the way to the core.

All the air rushes out of me, Stefan, drowning, over and over again. Is that what that dream was about? Telling me to help him. I have to help him. I untangle my hand from Damon's and get up to walk out of the door.

"Sit down!" She yells and with a flick of the wrist, I am flying back onto the couch. She's a witch?! What the hell? Damon sets his arm around my shoulder, as a protective instinct and pulls me closer.

"But here's the real question. Who did it?" She says and looks around once again for someone to answer. "Miss. Mikaelson," She begins and I can see Matt tighten his grip on her hand, "I do recall that Stefan has dumped you twice. Well, you can't really call a one-night stand dumping. So, did you do it?" She asks Rebekah, walking toward her.

"No, I didn't. Why would I want to? Stefan's a good guy." She answers, straight and simple, to get to the point.

This girl then points her finger at Matt and squints her eyes, just a bit, "You're a human, so you couldn't have done it." Then she turns to Caroline and Tyler, just as Caroline is about to speak, this girl cuts her off. "You were out of town," She points to Tyler, "So you couldn't have done it. And you're his best friend. So that rules you out, also." She says, as she points to Caroline. "That leaves you two. You do realize how suspicious this looks, don't you?" She tells Damon and I. Before I can even blink, she's in front of Damon with her fingers wrapped around his throat. Wait, what? She's a vampire… I thought she was a witch. None of this makes sense.

"Was it you? His own brother." She says with a cold tone, her fingers tightening their grip around his neck. He has his hands wrapped around her wrist, trying to get free. I move to help him but then she shoots me a death glare and hisses, "Sit down." Then she turns her attention back to Damon, "You were worried, that if he ever came back, she would run straight into his arms, and leave you in the dust. That's the reason, isn't it?" She asks while whispering, I can see her fingers digging into the sides of his neck, drawing blood. "ISN'T IT!" She screams at the top of her lungs, causing both Damon and I to recoil away from her. "I've had enough of you." Then _snap_, and Damon goes limp next to me. She broke his neck! Who the hell does she-, my thought is cut off by the need for air. I can't breathe, I move my hand to my neck, examining it to see if I feel a hand, but I don't. I look up and I see her holding a hand out towards me, with her palm aimed toward my chest.

"Maybe it was you, now that I think about it. Everyone assumes you're an innocent little girl. But, I know the truth, you broke him, Elena. You wore him down until he was nothing. So maybe you did it. After you picked Damon, you didn't want to change your mind, even though deep down, your _heart_ wanted to. So you got rid of the other choice, didn't you?" She says while walking towards me. I am shaking my head no and trying to get words out, but they wont come. I can see the black fuzziness at the edge of my vision, threatening to take me with it. Then all of a sudden, the pressure is gone and I start coughing, forgetting how to breathe. I fall to the floor, landing on my knees with a hand pressed to my chest. Finally, I gulp down air and regain my composure.

"You can come in now." She says to no one in particular. Then I hear the door open and I see him for the first time in months. And he looks different, darker, and angrier. "Sit," She says, as she moves her hand in a swaying motion, and a chair comes sliding right behind Stefan. He slowly lowers himself down into the wooden chair and scans the room. Starting with Rebekah, flashing a barely visible smile, then Matt, tilting his head a bit. Moving his way to Tyler, giving a slight nod. Then to Caroline, who has an ear to ear smile plastered on her face, and he returns the smile and I can see it spread to his eyes. He then looks to Damon and I swear the color washes out of his face. _Oh goodness, please don't look at me._ I pray to myself, looking down. And when I finally look up, his eyes instantly connect with mine. I want to pull away, but I can't find it in me to break this contact. Finally, he pulls away and looks up to the girl.

I realize I am still on the floor, so I get off from my hands and knees and sit down on the couch. Everyone is silent for a few moments until Damon starts to stir beside me. He groans a little, and rubs his neck trying to decipher what just happened. After he took inventory of the situation he turns his look to the right and speaks, "Well hello, brother." And within seconds, Stefan has Damon pinned to a wall, with a hand around his neck.

"Don't you dare, _'Brother,'_ me. I have been locked in a damn box, for…" He turns his attention back to the girl, standing quietly with a smirk on her face, "What day is it, darling?" He asks with a completely different tone towards her.

"August twenty-seventh." She replies to him, finding entertainment out of the situation. I can hear Stefan sharply inhale a breath of air, while trying to keep calm.

"For almost three months. I have been drowning, over and over again. Falling in and out of consciousness, while you have probably been having the time of your life, right?" He says through his teeth. "Having fun with my sloppy seconds?" He says through a smirk with a sinister tone. "I don't want him here anymore." He says, releasing Damon from his grip. He turns towards the girl and makes an annoyed hand gesture towards Damon.

"Damon Salvatore, you are no longer invited in this house." She says, then I look at Damon and he is gripping at his chest. Gaining control of his actions, he uses his vampire speed to rush out the house. As he hits the cement of the driveway I can hear him take a breath.

"What the hell was that?" I say, surprising myself that the words came out.

He turns around and gives me the coldest stare I have ever seen on his face. He starts slowly walking towards me and speaks in a low whisper, "What the hell was that? That was for him not looking for me when I was trapped in a metal box, underneath the water, starving and desiccating for twelve weeks." He is now only a few feet away and I can feel the hate radiating off of him.

"We all thought you left." I say in a barely audible voice. Looking down at the floor and twirling my thumbs nervously.

"_Everyone?_" He asks and I shake my head yes. "I didn't call, I didn't text, I didn't email _anyone_ in this whole town. I didn't visit _once_, and all of you thought I was okay? That nothing was wrong? That nothing could have happened to me?" He says, his voice rising with each passing word.

"We didn't think you would to come back after-," Caroline starts, but as she realizes what she is about to say, she immediately stops. Stefan looks over to her and gives a fake laugh.

"After what? After she broke my heart, right?" He said while pointing to me. "After she shattered it into a million pieces, then my brother stomped on it some more, just to rub it in. Well you're right, I wouldn't have come back. I wouldn't have even stepped one foot into this God forsaken town if I knew she was here. Because every moment of the past four years that I have spent here, was a complete and total waste of my time." He spits out to no one in particular. Well, that one stung a little, but I guess I deserved it.

"Stefan, you don't mean that." Caroline says sympathetically, walking towards him, but he backs away from her. She's trying to break through to him. Of course, he doesn't have his humanity off, but he's full of anger and needs to calm down, because when Stefan is angry, there is no getting him back until he lets out some steam.

"I do, Care. Being in this town has brought me nothing but pain." He says with a defeated tone. "I don't want to feel like this anymore, it hurts too much." I can see the tears gathering in his eyes, and I know Caroline has done it.

"Then don't, Stefan, find something that makes you happy. Then feel that and only that. Do you hear me?" She asks with a hopeful smile, waiting for him to say yes. When he finally nods, the girl tells him to sit down for a minute.

"So I'm just going to ask the question everyone is thinking." Rebekah says, butting into the conversation. "Who are you?" She asks pointing to the girl who called this '_meeting'_ to order. The girl looks at Rebekah and gives a nonchalant smile.

"I'm Stella," She begins then walks over to Stefan, who is sitting down in the chair, and hops onto his lap. Her legs are hanging over one arm of the chair, one of her arms is over Stefan's shoulders around the back and the other the same way, but in the front. She then looks to Stefan's face and gives him an honest smile, to which he returns. Surprising everyone, she lays a kiss on Stefan's cheek then says, "Your worst nightmare."

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**A/N: Back to this story! I hope you all like it very much. Things will be different than last time, I promise! Keep reviewing and favoriting! Future, written-from-scratch chapters will be much better, I swear!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here is the second chapter y'all! There are very different parts that I changed because it's laying out the new story line I would like to follow. Enjoy!**

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**ELENA'S POINT OF VIEW**

Now I can see the resemblance, the golden, wheat brown hair, the leaf green eyes, the same perfect nose. I wonder why it never occurred to me, because I never, in a million years, thought that Stefan could have a sister. What does this make Damon? Is he actually related to Stefan? I am just so confused; I don't know what to believe anymore.

I look over to Damon and see shock and surprise all over his face. So obviously he didn't know about this.

"I don't understand." I feel the words slip out of my mouth without even trying. Stefan looks over to me, one of his arms draped across the girl- Stella's lap, and his other is around her waist.

He looks back to the girl and says, "Do you want to explain? Or shall I?" The girl squints her eyes, showing that she is thinking about it.

"Please, allow me." She finally says. Stefan allows her to hop off of his lap and pull up a seat next to him. "Everyone sit. This could take a while. Please feel free to ask any questions you like." Then she puts her hair into a pony tail and begins.

"So let's just get the big question out of the way. Damon _is_ adopted. Okay, so now, let's begin. Our mother, is Esther Mikaelson and our father… Giuseppe Salvatore." This gets a gasp out of Caroline, who is now hanging on to Tyler's hand as though her life depended on it. "Obviously, Esther was known for her various affairs, one that made Niklaus, and two that made Stefan and I. Giuseppe, our father, used to be a vampire." As she says this I can see the color wash out of Damon's face. "But you all know, that he was human when he died. Well our mother was The Original witch as you all know, which made her very powerful. So she cast a spell to turn our father human again." I turn my head to look at Rebekah and she looks enthralled in this story, indicating she knew nothing of it. That's when I see Tyler's hand raise up.

"So how old are you two exactly?" He asks. Stella looks over to Stefan and smiles, not lovingly but as if mocking him.

"Even though it doesn't look like it, I am, in fact, older than Stefan." She says through a laugh, "He was born on September 7th, 1472 and I on July 31st, 1467. So, Stefan is 540 years old and I am 546. We're a bit old." She says with a smile, directed toward Stefan, to which he warmly returns. "Anyway, back to the story," She begins but Damon cuts her off.

"Wait a minute, can I please get some answers. Like why was I adopted or who my real parents are." He says all in one breath. I look over to Stella and she has an expression full of pure hate on her face.

"Fine. No one could know that I was alive. I was born half witch and half vampire. As you know, a witch is supposed to balance out nature and a vampire is an abomination to nature. So I was basically sentenced to death the moment I came out of my mother's womb. When a witch came to _collect_ me, my mother begged her with everything she had to let me live. And she did, but on one condition… you have to take a vampires life, a vampire whom you care for very much, to balance out the difference, and that was my father. But you see, my mother couldn't, she loved him too much to just let him die. So she turned him human, but not a normal human, an immortal human, who could only be killed by his own spawn. Esther knew Stefan and I cared for our father with everything we had, so we would never hurt him. Then she put me into hiding as well as my father and Stefan. Many, many years later after hiding was no good anymore, they, as in Stefan and my father, moved to Mystic Falls. Everyone knew Giuseppe had two children, and there he was about to show up with only one. That's where Damon comes in, he was a replacement for me. By this time Stefan was becoming a pretty good vampire, so he was able to compel Damon into believing he was part of this family and educated him on everything he needed to know." She finishes and I finally realized Damon grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. I look over to Stefan and his head is down, showing he is ashamed of what he has done. Damon's fingers are squeezing harder on mine and I can't take it.

"Damon, that hurts." I whisper in his hear, I get Stefan's attention because his head snaps up. But Damon's pressure on my hand keeps increasing, "Damon, let go." I say with a pleading tone. Before I know it Stefan is in front of Damon, inches away from his face.

"If you want to hurt someone because you're upset, hurt me. Not her." He says in a low voice.

"Okay then." Damon replies, then he's across the room with his hand around Stefan's throat, then I hear a thud and a groan from Stefan. I walk over and Damon has his hand pressed into Stefan's chest. _Oh no,_ I think to myself.

"You little bastard. You have been lying to me for one hundred and forty-five years. What is it that keeps me from tearing your heart from your chest?" Damon says up against Stefan's ear. He backs up and Stefan looks straight into Damon's ice blue eyes with a smirk that obviously runs in the family, or so I thought.

"Nothing." _Stefan, what are you doing?_ I say to myself. Because both him and I know Damon will follow through with this. I look around the room and everyone is on their feet, everyone except Stella, who is sitting perfectly straight and saying nothing. "So why don't you do it, Damon? You have posed all these threats against me but haven't followed through… with- with one of them. You think you're all bad but the truth is you're scared and alone. So go ahead, rip my heart out. Then you'll lose one of the only people who actually cares about you." Stefan says with difficulty.

"Boys, boys. Please no fighting during my story." Stella finally enters the conversation.

"Shut up, Stella." Damon retorts while staring at Stefan.

"Now, now, Damon, that's no way to talk to a lady." She says before walking up next to Damon and grabbing his arm that is around Stefan's throat, then slowly tears his fingers from their hold and starts to twist. Then I start to hear cracking and all of the sudden, Damon's arm is twisted behind his back, and I know it's broken. Stella lets go of his arm and he drops to the floor.

"Now if everyone can please return to their seats, so I can continue." Stella says, leaving Damon on the floor and going back to her chair. I decide to go out on a limb and ask a question.

"How do you know Damon, then? I mean, he obviously recognized your voice this morning, but he didn't know you were Stefan's sister." I say, turning everyone's attention towards me.

"Yes, I have been introduced to Damon before, but as Stefan's friend, Stefan's scary friend. I always like to emphasize my short temper when I meet people, so that's why Damon acted the way he did this morning after he heard my voice. Because he has been on the receiving end of one of my temper tantrums." She says.

"Wait, so since you can compel other vampires, does that make you two Originals?" Rebekah asks, while raising her hand a bit.

"We're sort of half Original vampires. Esther used the same spell on us that she did on you and all of your siblings." She directed towards Rebekah. "That kind of implants the Original gene into our bodies." Stella finishes and continues with her tale-telling. "After Stefan and father went into hiding, Stefan changed dramatically. They had no clue what was going on, and that's where Silas comes in. We figured out that Silas had access to a witch on the other side that created Silas' shadow self, or doppelganger, which happens to be Stefan. Since Silas was desiccating, and Stefan and he were connected somehow, that made Stefan's blood lust much stronger, which was basically, in a way, feeding into Silas, keeping him from completely dying. I have known for a long time that Stefan and Silas were doppelgangers. Witches, both dead and alive, talk. It just has never been an issue until now because Silas hasn't been roaming this earth for quite some time, so he has never been a threat before. That basically wraps up the Stella and Stefan story. Of course there are many more adventures and tales to be told that have happened along the way, but those can wait." She says with finality. No one says anything, we all just kind of look around at each other until Stefan speaks up.

"How did you know where I was?" He says while looking directly at Stella.

She takes a breath and begins, "Well, I figured out that you were in Mystic Falls, so I decided to come visit. When I got here I was walking around town and saw you by The Grille, so I went to talk to you and… I don't know, you're my brother I knew something was off. So as _he_ was walking away, I did that little mind-digging thing that I can do, and I figured out where he dumped you. Then I thought, what the hell, I should probably save him." This gets a laugh out of Stefan, which I have missed so dearly. But then a thought pops in my head, she can read minds, which probably means she has scanned everyone's head in this room. So she knows what I'm thinking. _Shit, _I say to myself. I need to get out of here, then I say something that is probably the worst decision in my entire life.

"Stefan, can I talk to you, in private?" He looks straight into my eyes, and nods. As he starts to get up, Stella puts an arm out stopping him.

"It's okay, Stell. I'll only be a minute." He says, using a nickname for her.

I remember when Stefan would make up nicknames for me. They're either 'Lena or love, sometimes darling and babe. When he was in pain or when he was sad he would call me baby. I know it's kind of childish liking nicknames, but it's something that no one else had with him. It was a special bond and way of appreciation we would address each other. No matter how loud of a crowd or party, all Stefan had to do was say one of those names and I would be by his side in an instant. But, my favorite name, by far, that he called me, was my angel.

Why am I thinking of Stefan? I shouldn't be thinking of Stefan. That part of my life is over and done with. I'm not going back to him. I _can't _go back to him. Not just for his sake but also for mine. I would just break his heart one more time and I think that would be it. One more time and Stefan would probably hate me forever. And forever for a vampire… that's a really long time.

I'm with Damon. I _love _Damon. I would do anything for him, I would go anywhere for him. I'd never felt this way about anyone until Damon came along. He's adventure and thrill and danger all wrapped up into one and that's what I love about him. The way he holds me as we have sex, no one's ever held me like that. Damon is engrained in my blood, he's etched in my bones, he's imprinted on my brain. If we somehow lost one another, I would walk to the ends of the earth to find him. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how much I needed blood. I would need to find him and I wouldn't sleep until I did.

There are obviously times when I question if I made the correct choice. But in the midst of thinking of that, I am engulfed by his strong embrace and sweet kisses. Some innocent and some… _not _so innocent. But then those kisses and embraces stop and I'm left with the question looming over my head. Was it a mistake choosing Damon over Stefan? No. I don't think it would ever be the wrong decision. It's what I felt in my heart for the longest time and I needed to listen to my heart. I don't think Damon could ever be a mistake. He has been in my bloodstream for so long, lurking about my inside of my heart. It was about time that I let him in. It was about time that I felt his love in every creak and corner in my body. I love the way he loves me. I love the way he holds me and whispers to me before we go to bed. The only thing that makes me nervous… Is that sometimes, I wish green eyes were staring back at me instead of icy blue ones.

I close my eyes and shake my head to come out of the confinements of my own brain. Everyone is either talking amongst themselves or looking at Stella. Damon is sitting on the couch, staring at the fireplace. I have the urge to go over and take his hand in mine but I resist. I look over to Stefan and shrug to the stairwell.

As we walk out of the living room Stella whispers, "You can't hide anything from me, Elena, especially your mind."

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**STEFAN'S POINT OF VIEW**

I allow her to walk into my room first then I close the door behind us. Stella sent a thought to my head saying she put a privacy spell on my room, indicating that no one could hear us, which I thank her for greatly. I walk over to my desk and sit in the chair that has been sitting there, empty, for the past three months. I just realize how awkward this silence has become, so I have to break it. "So what did you want to talk about?" I ask her. She looks over to me as if I have broken her out of a trance.

"Um… I'm not really, Uh- sure. I just had to get out of there." She says while nervously twirling her hands. Even though she has no clue what to talk about, I have a pretty good idea of what I want to ask her.

"Did you know… it wasn't me, Elena? Or have four years of knowing each other meant nothing." My voice cracks at the end of my sentence and her head snaps up, our eyes connecting instantly.

"I knew. I knew it wasn't you." She says and I can see tears gathering at the edge of her eyes. "And now I don't know why I'm about to cry." She stalls and wipes under her eyes. "I know you're gonna ask me why I didn't tell anyone, but who was I supposed to tell? Caroline and Tyler were off looking at colleges, Matt and Rebekah were on their summer vacation, Jeremy was making up lost time at school. I was scared, I didn't know what to do. I was scared and completely alone. And what was I supposed to do against who I just found out was Silas?" She says, pacing around the room. I move to the couch and motion for her to sit next to me. "Why are you even talking to me? You hate me." She says through a sniffle.

I lower my head and look down at my hands. I think of how much I don't hate her; the contrary really. I think of how much I love her. But she can't know that. She can never know that. If she knows that I still love her, that I want to hold her in my arms at night, that I want to call her my forever and I want her to call me hers. But I can't say any of that, so I do the opposite. I stay quiet. I keep my head down and I feel her stare burning through my skin.

She jumps up from the awkward situation and rubs her hands on her jeans. I hear her take a large breath and a gulp. She stands there, rocking back and forth on her heels. She rubs her hands against one another and keeps the silence going.

"So…" She starts slowly. "Yeah." She states and turns around to leave.

"Elena," I find myself speaking without even thinking. I don't want to be talking. She turns back to me and has a lost expression on her face. I really don't but for some reason I find words coming out of my mouth. "I don't hate you. I may not be your biggest fan right now or for a long time, but I don't hate you."

"Good" She says and turns back around to leave.

"Can I know something?" I say quietly, not thinking she heard me. But she turns around and raises her eyebrows at me.

"Yeah, anything." She says unconvincingly.

"Is your goal in life to hurt me?" I ask her in a broken voice. She opens her mouth to reply but I cut her off. "Do you sit in your room and plot and think of ways to break my heart? To break my spirit? To make me not want to have feelings anymore?" I dig the knife in a little deeper and I can see the hurt in her eyes. "Because that's all I feel like is between us anymore. Hurt. Pain. Loss. A loss of love. That's what's wrong with us." I start to stray from my previous subject and cough to clear my throat and my head. "I just don't know what I did to make you break my heart so much. Sure, I've done terrible things in my life that I can never fix but I don't go around breaking your heart every chance I get." I finish still feeling like I have a ticking time bomb inside of me.

A bomb of feelings: anger, pain, confusion, _love._ It's only a matter of time before I explode or implode. It could be either one. I'm terrified of when that will happen though. I've kept it all inside for so long and I've been doing so well at hiding it. I don't want to explode. I want to keep it hidden for as long as I can. I'm always the strong one in the group. I'm always the one to get hurt, but I take it, I can handle it and I always handle it. But when it comes to Elena, I don't know how many more times I can survive. Getting my heart broken over and over by the same person is just too tiring. I want to shake her. I can shake her. I just have to separate every thought, every feeling, every action, away from her. No more thoughts about Elena Gilbert, good or bad. None.

"I'm just not really sure what to say." She says quietly while twisting her fingers in and out of each other. She rocks to her toes that back to her heels and keeps nervously licking her lips.

"Then just leave." I tell her through a whisper and I keep my eyes on the piece of hardwood in front of me.

But I don't want her to leave. I want her to stay and sit next to me. I want her to wrap her arms around me and never let me go. I want her to take my hand in hers and look in my eyes with the love and warmth she once did. I want to walk up to the top of a mountain and hold her. I want to tell her that I love her and I want her to tell me that she will love me till the world stops spinning. I want her to defend me against every bad word that comes my way. I want her to protect me from myself and the demons that surround me. I just… I want her to fight. I want her to _fight _for me.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for such a short chapter, guys. It got late but I still wanted to update this! Please leave a review and follow & favorite. More to come in the future.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello, my darlings! I'm so sorry for my absence and lack of updating. I was out of the country on Spring Break so I obviously couldn't update and the week after Spring Break has been so busy at school! But I didn't want to wait another weekend for you to have this so, here you are. Enjoy!**

* * *

**STEFAN'S POINT OF VIEW**

As soon as Elena leaves the room I hear Stella's pitter-patter footsteps and they are making their way up the stairs. I'm guessing she heard everything because her own privacy spell doesn't work on herself. Sometimes it's good having such a protective sister and sometimes it isn't. Sometimes I just want to be left alone, but with her, she always pries and tries to find out what I'm thinking and feeling.

She slowly opens the door and peeks her head in before she lets herself in all the way. She saunters towards me with a sad expression on her face, indicating she heard it all.

"I'm guessing you heard." I say with a sad smile. She walks over to me and tries to grab my hand, but I pull back. "I don't want to talk, Stella. Just please leave me alone." I throw over my shoulder as I open the doors in my room and move out onto the widow's walk. I put my hands on the railing and close my eyes, inhaling a deep breath and drop my head back.

"Stefan," She starts, but I don't let her get any further because I hop over the metal bar and fall down to the ground, landing on my feet and using my hands for support. I start walking towards the forest and I can hear Stella shuffling around in my room, heading for the balcony that I was just on.

"Stefan Antonio Salvatore, do not walk away from me when I am talking to you!" She yells down to me, sounding like my mother. But I don't listen to her. I want to get away from here, and now. I don't want to be near this house for one more second or I'll go insane. I try taking another step, but my foot won't move. I look up to see if something is constricting my movements but there's nothing there. I look over my shoulder, back up to Stella, and of course, she's holding out her hand. Damn her, and her magic. I turn all the way around and throw my hands up in the air, showing her I surrender.

She flashes a smile, then puts her hand down and straightens out her shirt. She then follows suit and jumps to the ground and walks over to me.

"You can't run from your problems, mio fratello." _My brother_, I think to myself. I remember when Damon used to call me that. Now whenever I think of those times, a huge wave of guilt floods into my system.

"No, but I can avoid them for as long as I try." I tell her as I turn my back and start to walk away, but she grabs my arm and stops me.

"Evitando loro non vi farà sentire meglio, Stefan." _Avoiding them won't make you feel better_. She starts speaking to me in our native tongue of Italian, probably because she doesn't want people to hear our conversation that we're about to have. She goes to grab my hand but once again I pull away and avoid the physical contact.

"I don't care about feeling good!" I yell at her and she gives me a confused look, so I continue. "If I care about what or how I feel… I'll just end up getting hurt again, Stella. Can I ask you a question?" She nods and I turn away from her, facing the boarding house, where I can see Elena through the kitchen window. I hear Stella clear her throat, indicating she's waiting for me to start.

"Why can't I be selfish, Stella?" I say in a barely audible voice. "Why do I always have to do the right thing? Just once, why can't I do something that's wrong but do it anyways just because it's good for me. Because it makes me happy." The tears start to gather in the corners of my eyes and I pause to take a breath. "For some odd reason, I have it programmed in me to put other people's needs before my own. And since that's engrained in me… I'm always the one to get hurt." I bend down and pick up a rock the size of a golf ball, "Why can't I be goddamn selfish?!" I throw the rock at the side of the house and it shatters, showing my vampire strength. I look back up to the window and I see Elena's looking straight at me. I turn around and look back at Stella.

"You can't be selfish because it's not who you are. If you become selfish, you'll lose something that everyone loves about you. You'll lose something that makes up your whole being." She says sympathetically.

"People only love that about me because it always benefits them." She looks at me with a quizzical look, telling me to give her an example. "When Elena left me, for my asshole of a brother, I held up our end of the deal by leaving and letting them be together. I was selfless and let them be together even though it was literally ripping me apart from the inside out. But no, I was doing the right thing just like I always do." I tell her in a sarcastic tone.

"What deal, Stefan?" She asks, moving towards a bench that is close to the backyard.

"A deal I made with the devil, Stell. Damon and I promised each other, that who ever Elena didn't choose, would leave town and let the other be with Elena, be happy together. And you know what, Stella? She picked me, Elena picked me, and for once, I felt like it was over, that I finally had her to myself, that I didn't have to vie for her affection anymore. Can you guess what happened? He stayed. That selfish, son of a bitch stayed because he couldn't accept the fact that she chose me. He just had to keep pursuing her, over and over again. And it's just not fair, Stella." At this point I didn't try to keep the tears from spilling onto my cheeks.

"È davvero il suo amore, non è vero?" _You really love her, don't you?_ She says to me, and I immediately start shaking my head yes. I can't help it but I do. I've tried to stop, but I just can't.

"It may be stupid because I still do. Because of all the shit she has done to me. But I'm no better, I brought all of this supernatural into her life. But your answer is yes, Stella, I do still love her. More than you can imagine, hell, maybe more than you may ever know."

"Stai andando ad avere per lasciarla andare, prima o poi." _You're going to have to let her go sooner or later._ She says to me sympathetically. I look back up at the window where Elena was standing and she still remains there I swivel back to Stella and look down at my feet.

"I know I should let her go, Stella, but I can't. I love her too much just to walk away. I know I've said that in the past I don't love her anymore but there's a part of me that won't let her go, no matter how hard I try." I tell her and she flashes a big, winner's smile on her face. "What?" I snap at her and she starts to laugh.

"Stefan Salvatore, you just did something selfish." I think about it for a moment and realize that I did. It may be selfish that I can't let her go, but I don't care, because it's what I want. I throw my head back and erupt in laughter.

"You are one hundred percent correct, Stella Salvatore. I finally did something selfish, and the bad thing is… that it feels amazing." I tell her and she laughs at me. Then she walks toward me and loops her right arm through my left one.

"Take a walk with me?" She asks and I nod my head.

"Where are we going?" She looks at me and laughs, then puts on a thinking face, obviously putting thought into her answer.

"Over the river and through the woods," She repeats the lyrics of my favorite Christmas song, even though the winter season isn't for another few months. "I want to tell you something." She finishes.

* * *

**ELENA'S POINT OF VIEW**

I know I shouldn't follow them, but I just can't help myself. I need to know why Stella is being so secretive with Stefan.

Obviously, I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't hear Stefan's confession, because I did. And honestly, I feel like a complete bitch, because he's right. He's always the one to get hurt, always the one to put everyone else before himself. What happened the last time he was selfless? Oh yeah, he was trapped in a metal box for three months. But then I witnessed something. I witnessed Stefan being selfish. Only if it was for a moment, I saw it. And you know what? He was selfish with me. I don't deserve that. He should hate me. He should want to destroy me. Make me feel the pain that he felt, over and over again, whenever I broke his heart. God, why can't he just hate me? I don't think that there are no feelings of hatred for myself in Stefan. There has to obviously be some. Maybe everything he just told Stella was a lie. Maybe he just wanted her to shut up and that was the easiest way to do it. Yes. That's probably what he was doing. He doesn't love me. He doesn't want to be selfish with me. He hates me. He's just covering for himself. He loathes me. He doesn't want to see my face ever again. And I don't blame him.

Then, of course, I heard the news about this deal Stefan and Damon made with each other. Telling the truth, I'm a bit pissed at Damon. He talks about being noble and humble, but yet, here he is, not telling the truth about the deal, making his brother's life a living hell, and complaining like a baby when he doesn't get something he wants. And Stefan's right, I chose him, and Damon stayed. He stayed and weaseled his way into mine and Stefan's relationship once again. But yet, I was blinded by adventure and pure lust because of Damon, and couldn't see past that to who the true, correct, perfect choice for me. I remember what the first few weeks of Damon and I's relationship was like…

_We finish feeding and hide the body in the woods nearby and assume that the animals will finish it off. But I'm not so sure. We are getting too cocky with the feedings and, soon, we aren't going to be able to tie up loose ends. And by we I mean Damon and I. _

_He pulls me back into reality when he grabs my hand and pulls me towards his body so our chests crash. His hand then goes to my waist and his lips to mine, grabbing my attention in and reeling my senses with a passionate kiss. I can't explain what it feels like to kiss Damon. It's really hard to describe, but just imagine… jumping off a cliff and the feeling you get when you're airborne. Or when you're feeding on someone, and the rush you get when the blood enters your system. Maybe even when you watch a new action movie, and you're sitting on the edge of your seat in anticipation. Take all those feelings and combine them. That's what it feels like to kiss him. But I can tell something is missing. I don't know what, but it's something. Love, caring? That can't be, I know Damon loves me, just like I love him. _

_I pull away and he opens his eyes, I look straight into his icy blue orbs and say, "Tell me you love me." He just stares back for a minute and then brushes the comment off like a piece of dust and continues kissing me. This has happened every time I asked. He won't say it, hell, he didn't even say it when I was standing in the room with him that one night. Telling him I chose him over his brother. And now I'm suspicious. Why won't he say it back? _

_I remove my lips from his and run away and out of the woods, towards the direction of the boarding house. I get to the front door and inside, and before long Damon has joined me. Just sitting there staring at me, he starts to move forward, but I back away._

"_Why won't you say it, Damon?" I ask him with a sad tone to my voice. I look down at my hands and begin to twirl my thumbs._

"_I don't know." He replies to me. For some reason, this answer infuriates me. It gives me an anger that begins in my core and spreads to the tips of my fingers and toes._

"_Why the hell not? I have told you more times than I can count and you can't say it once? Please give me a good fucking reason why!" I yell at him, and his face is taken over by a cold, hard look. He just stands there saying nothing._

"_You said it so easily to me when I was a human. When you could COMPELL me to forget it. Why can't you be a man and tell it to me now? Why is everything so different now?" I shout at him and back a few feet away from him. _

"_Because Stefan isn't here!" He bellows towards me. Why the hell would it matter if Stefan was here? I try to say something but he cuts me off, "I'm done talking about this." Then he walks away._

_As I say once again, why would it matter if Stefan was or wasn't here?_

I'm pulled out of my own though when I don't hear Stefan or Stella's footsteps any longer, deciding it's time that I should actually leave the house and start to follow them. I walk downstairs and pass Rebekah and Matt who are holding each other's hand like their lives depend on it. Then I see Caroline on one couch using her phone and Tyler's nowhere in sight.

I open the door to the driveway and Damon is sitting on the ledge under the awning. He hears my footsteps then looks up and smiles. I don't return it and his smile instantly fades. He walks over and tries to kiss me but I turn my cheek and start to walk away.

"What's wrong?" He yells in my direction and I let out an airy laugh. I shake my head and continue walking.

"I don't want to talk about it." I throw over my shoulder and head into the woods.

As I get closer to Stefan and Stella, I start to hear their voices. And before I know it, I find them in a clearing, sitting on the luscious green grass. I decide to stay where I am because they haven't detected that I'm here yet. Even though it's quiet, I can still make out what they are saying.

"What do you mean this is all a game?" Stefan asks Stella, who looks very uncomfortable with the situation. She tilts her head side to side, cracking her neck, then looking back at Stefan and taking a breath.

"Damon. Him coming back to Mystic Falls. Him being with Elena. All of it's a game, Stefan." She says in one breath and I feel all of the air rush out of my lungs. I can't breathe and I really need to. My throat is burning and my lungs are screaming for air by now and my mind has gone fuzzy. When I hear Stefan's voice, I find the ability to breathe again and turn my attention back towards them.

"I don't believe you." Stefan whispers. "This can't be true. Damon wouldn't do that to her," He's yelling now.

"Stefan, you obviously don't know Damon as well as you think you do." She says and gets up off of the ground, just like Stefan has. "He is a manipulative, selfish, impulsive…" I can't stand this anymore, them talking about Damon like that. I really shouldn't make my presence know but I have to.

"Do _not_ finish that sentence." I say running out of the brush and into the clearing where they are standing. Stella looks at me like I am giving her a challenge then turns back to Stefan.

"Crazy, son of a bitch, girl-stealing," That's when Stella looks at me and continues to speak, directed towards me this time, slowly though. "Whore-fucking vampire. Who doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself, who only lives, to make his little brother's life a living hell."

Not being able to hold my rage any longer, I move my hand as fast as I can and slap Stella right on the cheek. I see Stefan jump forward in a protective motion but Stella waves him off and says that she's okay. Then she turns back to me.

"I'll admit that I deserve that. But I like speaking the truth. Even if it hurts someone's feelings." She pouts at the end and that makes me want to slap her all over again.

"Stella…" Stefan says this more as a warning. He steps forward and grabs her arm, then I look down and see her hand is in a fist, but as soon as Stefan touches her arm, it relaxes.

"You seem pretty calm for a girl who just figured out that her relationship was just a game. Aren't you a little upset? Angry? Sad? Are you going to shed a few tears?" She says to me mockingly, finally I take the whole situation in and allow my eyes to fill with tears.

"It wasn't a game." I tell her while blinking back tears. "He actually loves me and I love him." As this conversation progresses, my whole being is filled with doubt.

"But don't you feel the slightest sliver of doubt, Elena? Has he ever said 'I love you' back, when you say it to him? Has he ever taken you on a date, Elena? Or is the only thing that you do is fuck and feed?" She finishes and at this point there are steady streams of tears down my cheeks. "You've wasted three months on someone who doesn't actually love you." She finishes.

"STELLA!" Stefan yells, this time he grabs her arm harder and she breaks our gaze. "That's enough? What the hell is wrong with you?" He asks her and she shrugs her shoulders. "Go. _Now!_" He bellows at her and she crosses her arms over her chest and stomps her feet. He then points to the way they entered the clearing and she exits, out of my sight.

"Elena, I'm sor-" He starts to say but I cut him off.

"Is it true?" I ask him. He looks down towards his feet and starts kicking the grass.

"Uh… I'm not sure, Elena." He tells me as he scratches his neck, right where his hair ends. He does that when he's nervous, I started noticing that after we started dating. _But you're not dating anymore, Elena. _I mentally slap myself for even letting a single memory of when we dated cross my mind.

"Do you believe her?" Then I sniffle and clear the tears off of my cheeks. He keeps avoiding my eyes and I'm getting sick and tired of it. "Do you believe her?" I ask him more firmly.

"Yes, Elena, I do!" He says then runs his hands over his face. "She's my sister and she's the one person who hasn't lied to me in my entire life. She's the one person who has been there whenever I fell down and needed someone to pick me back up, to get me back on my feet. She's the one who always believed in me even when I didn't even believe in myself!" His chest is heaving by the end of that, telling me he didn't take a breath through the whole thing. "And you know about the mind-reading thing she can do." He whispers, while pointing to nothing in particular.

"So I basically fucked up my life in three months time, I'm in a relationship where the other person doesn't love me, and I lost probably the most important person in my life." I stop before I can continue, after realizing what I said. I mean I didn't say it to him specifically, I was just kind of rambling on. I pay attention to my movements and realize that I'm pacing. I freeze in mid-stride, playing with my hands, trying to think of something to say, I can't hold it in and I just break down in tears.

I don't know how long I stand there crying before I fall to my knees and put my face in my hands. And I don't know how much longer I wait for a strong pair of arms to wrap around me. But they never do. I don't feel his cheek against my head, his chest against my shoulder, or his lips on my forehead. I don't know how long I wait there, wishing Stefan's arms would take me in his embrace. But I can't think like that. Those arms aren't mine anymore; I don't belong in his embrace.

When I look up to the scene unfolding before my eyes, I see his figure through the blur of my tears. His back is towards from me and he is entering the woods. Walking away from me once again.

* * *

I'm still sitting on the ground when the sun starts to set. My legs are crossed and my arms are wrapped tightly around my stomach. The tears have stopped but I can feel the salt streams they left of my cheeks. I don't want to cry anymore. I really don't. But why do I keep finding myself in situations where tears come so easily?

I just want this life to be over; this life of supernatural and danger around every corner. I want a world without Silas or Klaus or vampires or werewolves or witches. I want to go back three years and change every decision that led up till now. I want to change every decision that ever killed someone I love or made someone a murderer.

I want my aunt to still ask me about which hairstyle to choose when going to a parent-teacher conference. I still want to smack my brother on the back of the head because I caught him doing drugs. I want to car pool with Bonnie every morning and I want to be annoyed with Caroline but still love her at the same time. I want Tyler to be the douchebag football player and Matt to be my childhood best friend.

Most of all, I want my parents to be alive. I want to go back to the night of that stupid party and stay at home. I want to play stupid board games with my mom, dad, aunt, and brother. I want to eat chips and popcorn and ice cream until I can barely move. I want my mom to be downstairs on a Saturday morning cooking eggs and bacon and I want to see my dad reading the newspaper at the kitchen table. I want to have to jump on my brother's bed to wake him up and be able to feel the scalding hot water in the shower.

I want to be normal again. I want to be a cheerleader at my college, I want to eat hamburgers and fries and milkshakes and I want to actually be able to taste them. I want to get cut without healing and I want to get sick. I want to be able to walk in the sun without having to wear this ring and I want to be able to smell a vervain flower without feeling like someone is pouring acid in my nose. I don't just want to _feel _human; I want to _be _human.

But if I went back and changed every decision for the past three years, I wouldn't be the strong woman I am today. Caroline wouldn't have found herself and her true potential. Bonnie wouldn't have figured out that she was a witch and she wouldn't have the power that most people only dream of. Jeremy wouldn't have become the gentle but muscular young man and Tyler wouldn't have become the leader of a wolf pack. Most importantly, if I went back three years and changed everything… I would have never met Stefan.

I should also add Damon in there, but really, I don't care. Sure I love him but I could live without him. If I changed all the decisions for the last three years and never met Damon, I would be okay with it. But he just popped in out of nowhere and I fell in love with him. It's not the kind of love that Stefan and I had, though, and I kind of miss that. I hate myself for comparing the two of them, but it's hard not to when they're brothers. Where Stefan was sweet and kind, Damon is impulsive and doesn't watch his mouth. Where Stefan is gentle with his kisses, Damon is forceful and aggressive. Where Stefan could leave an entire crowd in awe because of his words, Damon hates talking and would rather do other things. But those are some of the things I love most about Damon. He's adventurous and fearless and the things we do together give me such a rush whether it's jumping off of a waterfall or certain things in the bedroom.

I don't understand how they passed off as brothers for so long. They look nothing alike and they are complete opposites. Stefan just always loved and cared for him so much that the possibilities of them not being related wasn't even a reasonable choice. Stefan would walk on nails and hot coals if it meant he could save Damon. He would take all the blood out of his own body and give it to Damon if he needed it. But Damon would never do those things for Stefan. I don't know why he doesn't see how much he means to Stefan. I don't know why Damon did the things he did to Stefan in the past. But it's none of my business. It's a history between the two boys that has nothing to do with me. So I don't need to know about it.

I decide I've given myself long enough of a pity party and I uncross my legs and stand up. I brush the dirt and leaves off my butt then clap my hands together. I cross my arms over my chest and head into the dense forest. I have nothing to be afraid of because right now, I'm probably the scariest thing out here.

* * *

I get back to the boarding house and I find Damon still sitting on the cement ledge, but this time, with a bottle of bourbon in his hand, probably courtesy of Rebekah. Just seeing him brings tears back to my eyes and now I'm crying for what feels like the millionth time today.

He turns his head towards me and flashes a smile that instantly fades when he sees my tears. Once I get close enough I hear him start to say something about if I am okay, but he doesn't get to finish that sentence because before my mind know what my body is doing, I slap him across the face and yell, " YOU LIAR!" With tears streaming down my face, I back up with my hand over my chest and heave for air.

"You've been lying to me." I say delicately, choosing my words carefully. More tears fill my eyes and I see Stefan coming up the driveway out of my peripheral.

"Elena…" He begins but I hold up my hand, telling him to stop.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. The deal you made with Stefan, that you broke. The fact that this… whatever this is, has been a game to you. You just wanted the prize, and the prize was me. All you wanted to do was make Stefan's life miserable, so you took away something that meant a lot to him, just to win a game? A _fucking _game?! Do you even actually love me? Or was that time that you said you loved me, oh so long ago, just you pretending some more?" At this point I'm full on choking for air, and then I see Caroline come out of the house and kneel down beside my now hunched over body. She shoots a few disgusted, disappointed looks toward Damon and I think I even see her flip him off.

"Elena, please." He starts to begin but I don't want to hear his crap.

"Just don't." I choke out. "I'm done with hearing your excuses." Then Caroline picks me up off of the ground and puts her arm around my waist escorting me into the house. But before I can make it all the way inside of the threshold, I whisper, just barely loud enough so he can hear me, "And I'm done with you."

* * *

**CAROLINE'S POINT OF VIEW**

After I got Elena settled in my bed with a nice movie on T.V. and a cup of warm tea, I walk out onto the deck and bring my phone with me, just to check if I have any messages.

I sit in one of the chairs on the back deck then pull my phone out of my pocket and look at the screen. It reads one new message and my heart flutters with excitement as I unlock the phone and open up my text messages.

_Meet at the pond, in the forest, behind the boarding house, by the little cabin. 10 pm._

I check the time on my phone and it's 9:30. I could have some time to kill but considering how I'm tired and don't want to use my vampire speed, I decide to start walking now because the pond is quite a ways away.

Walking through cobwebs, and mud puddles, and hearing a lot of rustling in the bushes, I finally make it to the pond, and sure enough there is the little cabin, with a light on in a few of the windows, beside it. I walk closer to the little house and then hear something rustle in a bush behind me, so I spin around but nothing's there. I start toward the little house again, and more rustling. This time I slowly turn around, making sure I don't scare off whatever is there. But again, there is nothing to be seen. Not letting myself turn around again, I walk faster towards the back of the cabin, seeing more light coming from there.

Once I enter the backyard, I see a little deck with one table on it and two chairs. There are little paper mache lights hung all around. Then I stop moving when I hear more rustling and freeze when I can hear breathing behind me.

In one swift motion I turn around and then gasp and put my hand over my heart. Smiling instantly because I now know there was never any danger. He looks at me puzzled then says, "Did I scare you?" I hear him laugh and can't contain my own laughter. But his is more sweetly sinister and it's my drug.

"Yes, you did." I say as I walk over to him and put my arms over his shoulders and entangle my fingers behind his neck. I then feel him arms wrap around my waist and pull me into a strong hug.

"You don't have to be afraid of me." He whispers in my ear, and that sends chills down my spine all the way to my toes.

"I know," I smile, "But sometimes you use the element of surprise very well. But let's forget it and restart the evening, well night." I give a girly giggle and this makes him smile. "Hi." I say sweet and short as I set my forehead against his.

"Hello, love."

* * *

**A/N: I hope you like the re-vamped version of this chapter! It's obviously a lot different than the last one in some parts.**

**But keep reviewing! I really appreciate it guys.**


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